


The Music of the Heart Soulmate Finder

by jdmusiclover



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, F/M, Fluff, Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-12-23
Updated: 2016-12-23
Packaged: 2018-09-11 09:52:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 7,112
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8974903
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jdmusiclover/pseuds/jdmusiclover
Summary: CS Soulmates, AU.  Emma Swan is skeptical of the newest rage in the dating world--The Music of the Heart Soulmate finder.  When Mary Margaret convinces her to get one for herself, will it point her to her own soulmate?  Will she have the courage to open her heart to the possibility of True Love? *Originally posted as part of my Fluffy Fridays collection*





	1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

**CS Genre: soulmate au**

" _Are you lonely? Tired of the dating scene? Ready to find your soulmate and settle down_?" came the over-excited voice from the TV on the other side of the apartment common room. " _Have I got a deal for you! For just two easy payments of $19.99, you can be the proud owner of the Music of the Heart Soulmate Finder™!"_

"Emma, have you _seen_ this?" Mary Margaret called from her perch on their sofa.

"A smarmy infomercial salesman trying to peddle his crap to gullible lonely people?" Emma asked, never taking her eyes from her laptop where she had just picked up a promising lead on her latest skip. "Yeah, I've seen plenty of those. Thanks."

Mary Margaret tutted. "Emma, you're always _so_ distrustful!"

"Yeah, kind of comes with the bail bonds person gig," Emma said, clicking open another tab on her browser. "Something about going after the scum of the earth on a daily basis kind of makes a person lose her faith in humanity."

The infomercial droned on, happy couple after happy couple giving their testimonials about how the "Music of the Heart Soulmate Finder" brought them together and changed their lives. Emma rolled her eyes. _Soulmates_! The whole concept was a joke. There was no such thing as a soulmate. No such thing as one person designed specifically for you.

In her experience, even regular, ordinary love was a fairy tale.

Mary Margaret finally clicked off the TV, and then turned toward her. "Emma," she said. "I think we should do it."

Emma shot her roommate and best friend a questioning look. "We should do what?"

"Get soulmate finders!" Mary Margaret said, her emphatic nod making a lock of her dark brown pixie cut tumble into her face.

"You have _got_ to be kidding me, Mary Margaret!" Emma said, closing her laptop and turning her attention fully toward the woman on the other side of the couch.

"Now Emma, I know your…difficult experience…with Neal has made you a little, um, wary when it comes to relationships," Mary Margaret said with a placating motion of her hand, "but not all guys are like that. Aren't you even _curious_ to find out if there's a soulmate out there for you? Don't you even want to find love?"

"Mary Margaret, things with Neal weren't just _difficult!"_ Emma said. "The son of a bitch not only _left_ me, he had me arrested for _his_ crime! _That's_ what happens when you let yourself fall in love. So, yeah. The occasional one-night stand is all I need, thank you very much."

Mary Margaret shook her head gently, frown on her face. "Emma, those walls of yours may keep out pain, but they also keep out love, and love is _so_ worth it!"

Emma shot her roommate an annoyed look. "Why do you need a magical soulmate finder anyway? I've seen the way you and David Nolan look at each other. I kind of doubt you need to waste $40 dollars to find love."

Mary Margaret colored, smiling to herself. "He asked me out, you know?"

"Really?" Emma asked, "I didn't think Deputy Nolan would ever get up the courage to ask you. How'd he do it?"

"Well…" Mary Margaret said with a little laugh. "He pulled me over. When I asked him what the problem was—I was sticking strictly to the speed limit—he told me he was going to have to arrest me for grand theft. Seems I'd stolen his heart."

Emma groaned and buried her face in her hand. "Please tell me that wasn't the line David used! That's quite possibly the worst pickup line I've ever heard."

"Oh I don't know," Mary Margaret said, "I thought it was kind of cute."

"Mary Margaret, your second graders could have come up with a better line, and they're about half a decade away from puberty."

"Well, good line or bad," Mary Margaret said, "it worked. We've been dancing around this…whatever it is…for months now, and I can't _wait_ to go to dinner with him and find out if there's really something there or not."

"I'm happy for you," Emma said, feeling genuinely happy for her best friend, a woman who'd wanted to get married and have babies of her own since about sixth grade. She deserved to be happy.

"Thanks," Mary Margaret said. "And that is exactly why I think you and I should go down to this address and get fitted for soulmate finders!"

"Mary Margaret, you just told me you landed a date with the man that everyone with eyes can see is perfect for you," Emma argued. "Why the hell would you need a soulmate finder?"

Mary Margaret shrugged. "I mean, it would save months of heartbreak. If I turn the thing on during my date with David, I'll _know_ if he's the one. I can be _sure_. Besides, if things go well for me and David, I want you to find happiness too. _Please_! I never ask you to do things for me, but this would mean _so much_! And really, what do you have to lose? You buy the finder and it doesn't work, you're out $40, that's it. No harm, no foul."

Emma had to admit there was something about the idea of a device that could tell her if a certain guy was her soulmate or not that sounded appealing. And if it would make Mary Margaret happy (and keep her off her case about her current very, very single status), maybe it was worth it.

"I can't believe I'm saying this," Emma said finally, "but fine. I'll give the soulmate finder a shot, but I'm just telling you right now, when it doesn't find me my soulmate, it's going right into the garbage."

~c~s~c~s~c~s~c~s~c~s~

"So it's really a simple concept," the perky saleswoman said later that day when Emma and Mary Margaret stepped into _Happily Ever After, Inc_. later that day. "Highly scientific, and it comes with a 100% guarantee. We've been manufacturing the Music of the Heart Soulmate Finder for five years now, and we've heard nothing but positive things from our clients."

"Yeah, that's great and everything," Emma said, from her perch across from the brunette sitting behind her desk, "but just what is this amazing product and how does it work?"

"Emma!" Mary Margaret said under her breath, "don't be rude!"

"Oh it's no problem, Miss Blanchard," the woman, who, if the name plate on her desk was accurate, was named Aimee Cupid, assured. "We're quite used to skeptics. It's a difficult world out there. Most people have spent a lifetime kissing frogs and have yet to find one that will turn into a prince. I'm perfectly happy to explain our product."

"So get to it," Emma said, crossing her arms over her chest.

Aimee opened the top drawer of her desk and pulled out what looked like a tiny hearing aid. "This is it," she began. "This tiny little device will find you the person of your dreams. Here's how it works. Every person has a certain, shall we call it _energy_ that is uniquely theirs. No one else has quite the same energy. Using newly developed sonic wave technology, our founder realized he could turn that energy into a musical melody, one that's unique to each person, and one that is the most beautiful music in all the world to the person experiencing it.."

"So, the device…broadcasts a person's particular melody?" Mary Margaret asked, sitting forward on the edge of her chair.

"Not exactly, Miss Blanchard," Aimee said. "When the device is placed in a client's ear and turned on, the client is able to "hear" all the melodies around them. And here's where the soulmate finding capacity comes in. Every person on earth has a soulmate, one single person who is their perfect match. When two soulmates meet, their energy mingles in a supremely satisfying way. The Music of the Heart Soulmate Finder facilitates this process and makes it absolutely clear to each person that what they are experiencing is indeed the True Love of soulmates."

"Let me guess," Emma said. "When you meet your soulmate your music finally stops?"

"Quite the opposite, Miss Swan," Aimee said. "Your soulmate's melody meshes perfectly with yours. Your two melodies come together to form a _perfect_ harmony. The more like your soulmate a perspective match is, the more you will like the way your melodies sound together, but when you meet the one, it will be unmistakable. You will be overwhelmed with how perfectly your melodies click. We've had more than one client break into uncontrollable sobbing upon meeting their soulmate, because it's just _so_ beautiful."

Emma rolled her eyes and muttered under her breath.

"We'll take them!" Mary Margaret said enthusiastically.

"Excellent!" Aimee Cupid said with a little clap of her hands. "Ladies, prepare to meet the men of your dreams."

_Notes:_

_\--This story was originally posted as part of my Fluffy Fridays collection._

_\--So, I've wanted to do a soulmates au for a while, but I wanted to put my own spin on it—something that kind of brought in a bit of who I am. As music has always been a huge part of my life, I think if there really were such a thing as a "Music of the Heart Soulmate Finder" hearing aid-type device, I'd be all over it! (Even if it didn't find me my own devilishly handsome pirate, it would still be fun to hear what everyone else's melody sounded like!)_

_-Up next: While Mary Margaret finds exactly what she's looking for in David Nolan, Emma doesn't have nearly the same positive experience with her soulmate finder. After a couple less than stellar dates, she decides to give up…that is until she happens to come across a devilishly handsome blue eyed musician playing a gig in her favorite coffee shop…_


	2. Chapter 2

_Chapter 2_

**CS Genre: CS soulmates au**

_One month later…_

Emma grinned in spite of herself as she woke up in her loft bedroom to the sound of Mary Margaret making breakfast and singing…was that "Someday My Prince Will Come" from Snow White? Her roommate must have had a far more pleasant date last night than she'd had.

Not that that would have been hard. Walsh was…well, to put it charitably, soooooo far from her soulmate that Emma doubted it would be possible for the mixing of her heart's song to clash that badly with _anyone_ else's. She should have known better than to go on the blind date her latest skip—Zelena Mills (or as she privately called her while she was tracking her, "The Wicked Witch of the West") had set her up on. Among other truly bizarre things, Walsh had this truly creepy obsession with monkeys.

"Take it from me, Emma," he'd said while evidently savoring his banana split, "one day monkeys will rule the world. They're smarter than all of us. Best make friends now before they take control and then go all 'evil flying monkey' on your ass."

More than a few screws loose inside that man's head.

But Walsh was just the latest in a long string of dates where Emma most certainly did not find her soulmate…unlike Mary Margaret, who had had her own personal soulmate soundtrack playing on a continuous loop ever since her first (very successful) date with David Nolan.

"Oh Emma! You're up," Mary Margaret said in a ridiculously chipper voice for 7 am on a Saturday morning. "Hope I didn't wake you. I just woke up brimming with energy and decided I couldn't lay around in bed anymore on such a beautiful day."

Emma took a glance outside to see dreary gray skies and a light (probably really cold) drizzle. She grinned again. Love was doing quite a number on Mary Margaret Blanchard.

"No problem," Emma said, grabbing a mug and pouring herself some coffee. "I was hoping to get an early start this morning. Just got a new case, and I want to get a jump on it. And trust me. You'll never hear me complain about you trying to get rid of excess energy by cooking a big breakfast."

Mary Margaret merely smiled and then went back to flipping her pancakes.

"So," Emma said, after taking a sip of the strong, hot brew, "I'd take it from your perma-smile that last night went well?"

Mary Margaret sighed in what could only be considered ecstasy. "Emma, there is _nothing_ like dating your soulmate. It's like everything just _clicks_. But enough about me; how was your date?"

Emma groaned and buried her head in her hands. "It was a total nightmare."

Mary Margaret listened and tutted sympathetically as Emma described the date the Wicked Witch had set up for her.

"I'm tempted to just toss this soulmate finder," Emma said in annoyance. "You found your soulmate, other people have found their soulmates, but clearly the stupid device doesn't work on me."

"Now don't give up yet," Mary Margaret said, sliding a huge stack of pancakes and a bottle of maple syrup onto the table and then taking her seat. "You can't hurry love. Sometimes these things take time. Besides, the soulmate finder wasn't a total waste. You had a good time with Sheriff Humbert."

True enough. One of the first dates Emma went on post-soulmate finder was with the town's number one lawman, Graham Humbert. They'd had a nice time together, and Graham's song had sounded reasonably pleasant mixed with hers, but the "spark" had just not been there. She could see becoming really good friends with Graham, but she just didn't see it going beyond that.

Emma made some non-committal answer to her best friend, and then the conversation devolved to other topics (generously interspersed with observations about how utterly perfect David Nolan was), and Emma found herself enjoying the meal with Mary Margaret.

"Oh no!" Mary Margaret said finally, looking at her watch, "I'm late! I'm supposed to meet David down at the toll bridge for an early morning nature walk."

"Go," Emma said, taking her plate to the sink, "I'll knock out these dishes then go get started on some research downstairs."

"Now remember to rinse the plates before putting them in the dishwasher."

"Yes, _mom_ ," Emma said with a good natured roll of her eyes as she shooed her roommate toward the door.

After cleaning up the kitchen, Emma grabbed her laptop, locked the apartment, and then headed downstairs to the Bookmark Café, a little coffee shop her friend Belle French had only recently opened in the corner of her bookstore. The café was a popular spot in the mornings, and Emma found she did her best work surrounded by the hustle and bustle of people going about their days.

The first thing Emma noticed upon opening the doors of the Bookmark was the strumming of a guitar, followed closely by a lyrical baritone voice as smooth and comforting as molten chocolate.

Emma took her accustomed secluded table in the back and then scanned the café for the source of the music she couldn't help but tap her toes to.

She suddenly found herself looking into (tumbling into, falling into) a pair of the most stunning blue eyes she'd ever seen. For a moment those eyes took her breath away. And when she looked at the rest of the man attached to them—slightly messy black hair, long, dark lashes, ginger scruff, long, dexterous fingers plucking the strings of the guitar—her heart stuttered…before pounding as though it wanted to come out of her chest.

Emma had never had such a swift, sure and powerful reaction to _anyone_ before. She stared openly at the man until the song came to a close and his eyes connected with hers. He looked startled for a moment, before a slow grin turned up the corners of his mouth and he very deliberately _winked_ at her.

That was enough to snap Emma out of it. Turning away quickly, she focused all her attention on the laptop in front of her.

"He's good, isn't he?" Belle asked, stepping up to Emma's table and pulling out a pad of paper.

Emma shrugged nonchalantly. "I guess so," she said. "Never seen live entertainment here before. This a new thing you're trying?"

Belle colored prettily. "Well, yeah, you could say so. The guitarist is Liam's brother, Killian. Liam asked if I'd give him a chance, and suddenly it just…happened _._ "

"Liam, huh?" Emma asked with a grin. "That the guy you had a date with a week ago?"

"Yeah, that's him," Belle said. "Even before I turned on my soulmate finder, I could tell that Liam was different, special. He literally took my breath away. And then when I heard our music mingle…" Belle sighed in happiness. "Emma, there's nothing like it. Anyway, Killian just got here from England, and I wanted to help him acclimate however I could. Then I heard him play, and asking him to provide live entertainment a few mornings a week was a no brainer."

Another soulmate finder happy customer, apparently. Was Emma the _only_ woman on the Eastern sea board who'd had absolutely zero success with the damn thing? Of their own accord, Emma's eyes wandered back to the musician—only to find his eyes already trained on her. He smiled tentatively, and she felt her face flame. His smile broadened as he turned back to his instrument and started up a new song.

That smile set Emma's heart to racing yet again. What was _up_ with her? She had a sudden, intense temptation to reach up to her ear and turn on the soulmate finder. What if it was more than just a normal hot-blooded woman's reaction to a handsome (drop-dead gorgeous) man? What if this musician was actually her soulm…

"Emma?" Belle asked, and Emma's runaway thoughts ground to a halt as she suddenly realized the bookstore-owner-turned-barista had called her name a number of times before she heard her.

"Uh," Emma said, feeling decidedly flustered, "you say something, Belle?"

"Yeah," Belle said with a grin. "I asked what you wanted to drink this morning."

"How about a hot cocoa with cinnamon?" Emma asked, her eyes turning, almost of their own accord to watch as Killian's nimble fingers plucked the strings of his guitar.

"Coming up," Belle said, turning to look in the same direction as Emma. "He's handsome, isn't he?"

"Handsome as hell," Emma muttered under her breath before coughing delicately and then turning toward Belle, shrugging in feigned nonchalance. "I mean…yeah, he's not bad on the eyes."

Belle openly laughed at that. "No he's not. He's a nice guy too. You ought to go talk to him when he's finished with his set."

Emma was sure her face was beet red by now. Bad enough she was having this…weird, almost irresistible reaction to musician man over there, did she have to be so transparent everyone could see it, too?

"Uh, yeah, probably not," Emma finally said, turning resolutely back to her laptop. "Got a new case, and I'm gonna be busy with research all day."

"Suit yourself," Belle said, knowing grin still in place as she walked off to fill Emma's order.

Emma took a deep breath and turned determinedly to her work. Hot musician or no hot musician, she had a job to do and he absolutely would _not_ let him distract her.

And, yeah. She wasn't about to turn on her soulmate finder either, no matter what her traitorous heart may be urging her to do.

_Notes_

_-So, the Bookmark café—that was patterned after a real place. I work in a university library, and we have a little café of that same name near the main entrance. It is a wonderful place…but alas, it does not have live music, and even if it did, I doubt Killian Jones would show up and play there, lol._

_-So, obviously this story does not come to a close with part two. One more chapter to go._


	3. Chapter 3

_Chapter 3_

**CS genre: CS soulmates AU**

He saw her the moment she walked into the coffee shop, and his reaction was as swift and sure as he'd ever felt—well, at least since Milah, his heart reminded him. Her blonde hair fell down her back in waves his fingers ached to drag through. Her green eyes met him across the shop, and it was as though he'd been punched in the gut, his breath leaving him in a rush. (Good thing he was between songs, or he'd have made a total arse of himself.)

She set up at a secluded table in the back of the coffee shop and promptly opened her laptop, focus steady on whatever she was working on. With her handbag on one seat and her red leather jacket on the other, she effectively barricaded herself from those who might wish to interrupt her, and Killian couldn't help but wonder why the lass wished to so definitively keep others away. Who had hurt her in the past that she would barricade herself behind such impenetrable walls now?

Belle approached the blonde, and Killian felt his heart leap in his chest as he saw a smile light up the angel's face. It was as though the sun finally peaked out from behind the clouds. She'd been beautiful before, but when the smile lit up her face and made her eyes sparkle, she was positively radiant.

Was this what love at first sight felt like?

Killian felt a keen stab of disloyalty at the very thought, remembering the reason he'd immigrated to the States. A year ago, his life had seemed perfect. He'd a job at the London docks, near the sea he loved and near the _Jolly Roger_ , the ship he loved even more.

And then there'd been Milah.

He'd called her his lively pirate lass. She was as brave, vivacious and full of life as she was beautiful, and Killian had been sure he would spend the rest of his days with her. He had, in fact made plans to propose to her and make their wild, passionate love story official.

And then it all crumbled before him.

Milah had come to visit him at the docks on the day that would prove the worst in his life. They'd been in the middle of a pleasant conversation, when suddenly she'd simply collapsed. By the time the paramedics arrived she was gone. The doctors had told him it was some sort of congenital heart defect that had gone undetected until it killed her with no warning.

Killian thought he'd die from the pain of losing his love, and over the next months he became a bloody disaster. Rum became his constant companion, the only thing that could get him through the long days and even longer nights.

Finally, Liam had intervened, begging Killian to come live with him in the States, to make a fresh start and begin _living_ his life again. Knowing Milah would have wanted him to find a way to move on and be happy, Killian had finally agreed.

Now, a month later, he was finally beginning to feel like he'd put the pain in the past where it belonged. He was finally approaching "happy" again, and life was good.

Well, at least until Liam met Belle and the two had become well-nigh inseparable. Oh, he liked the lady Belle, to be sure, and he could see plainly that she was perfect for his brother, but the problem is that happy people, people in love, tend to want to see all those they care about in similar situations.

Belle had found Liam through a device called the Music of the Heart Soulmate Finder, and had been after Killian to get one of his own ever since. Finally, in a bid to get the woman who would likely be his sister-in-law one day to stop harping on him, he'd agreed—albeit reluctantly.

But owning such a device and using it were two different things.

Somehow, turning on a device that would help him find a woman to love felt disloyal to his beloved Milah's memory. So he'd worn it once; turned it on just long enough to hear his own heart's song, and then buried the detested thing in a safe on the _Jolly_.

Never had he been tempted to use his soulmate finder. Never had he been tempted to unearth it from its current resting place.

Never until the blonde beauty had entered his coffee shop, that is. Perhaps there was life for him after Milah. Perhaps it was time to begin living again.

And suddenly, with a blinding flash of light, it came to Killian what he must do. With a last strum of his guitar, he finished what was normally the last song in his set, and then he took a deep breath. The moment of truth.

Turning his eyes toward the woman who'd caught his eye, he played a few introductory chords, and then started in on the music the soulmate finder had assured him was the music of his heart.

Within the first two bars, he knew he'd made an impression on the lady of his affections. She gasped, whipping her head up from where she'd been bent over her computer, her eyes widening and locking on his, a lovely red tinting her cheeks.

Killian felt his own cheeks redden, his own breathing hitch, knowing beyond a shadow of a doubt that whatever this was that he was feeling, she was feeling it too. He made up his mind. He'd finish his song, and then he'd go talk to her.

But he was never to get the chance. No sooner had the blonde vision locked eyes with him than she hastily gathered her things, dropped a few bills onto the table, and nearly ran out the door.

~c~s~c~s~c~s~c~s~c~s~

"You want to tell me what's got you so freaked out?" Mary Margaret asked, from her seat on the bar stool in their loft kitchen.

"Yeah, not so much," Emma muttered, as she abruptly began pacing, reaching up to run a distracted hand through her hair. "Just a crazy day I guess."

Mary Margaret took a swig of her tea, set the mug back on the bar, and then swiveled toward Emma. "It wouldn't have anything to do with what Belle told me happened this morning, would it?"

Emma stopped abruptly, her heart pounding and her cheeks suddenly feeling flushed. "Belle told you about…? Never mind! It was nothing. Nothing at all."

Mary Margaret crossed her legs, giving her a knowing look. "Emma, we've known each other since…well, basically forever," she said. "Don't you think I know you by now? You don't abruptly leave without even waiting for your coffee to arrive. Not unless something happened; not unless you're _running_."

If possible, Emma felt her cheeks flame even more. Why the hell had she gone down to the coffee shop this morning? She could have just as easily done her research from a park bench. "What…what exactly did Belle tell you?"

"She told me," Mary Margaret said, stopping to take another sip, "that you seemed quite interested in her boyfriend's brother. That he started playing a song, and it was like you were seeing a ghost. That you ran out of there so fast she thought you out to try out for the Olympics."

"I did not _run_ …" Emma began, but her words quickly fizzled out when Mary Margaret gave her the _look_. The one she probably gave her second graders when they were being particularly unruly.

"What happened, Emma?" Mary Margaret asked gently. "Did you turn on your soulmate finder? Did you find out this brother of Liam is your soulmate?"

Emma dropped abruptly onto the couch and buried her head in her hands. "No," she said. "I…I was too freaked out to turn the damn thing on."

Mary Margaret took the seat next to her, putting a comforting hand on her shoulder. "Why?"

Emma looked up, her eyes tortured. "Because I _felt_ something, okay? Even without the stupid soulmate finder, there was this…I don't know…pull to the guy, (his name's Killian, by the way,) and I just can't go there. Not again. I don't think I'd survive another go 'round."

"You're afraid he's going to hurt you," Mary Margaret said. It was a statement of fact rather than a question.

"It's just…" Emma began, letting herself meet her roommate's gaze, "I've been down this road before, remember? You might have found the perfect guy in David, and I'm thrilled for you guys and everything, but that's never been me. It's always the same thing. The minute I let myself fall for someone, he leaves. _No one_ stays. No one ever will."

Impulsively, Mary Margaret leaned in and gave Emma a tight hug. When she pulled back, her eyes were twin pools of compassion. "Emma, not every guy is Neal. Not every guy is going to leave you."

"I know, but…"

"Shh," Mary Margaret said with a staying motion of the hand. "I'm not finished yet. If there's one thing I've learned about love, it's that it's worth the risk. It's worth any risk you have to take. True love isn't easy but it must be fought for because once you find it, it can never be replaced. The payoff of that risk is better than you could ever imagine."

"But if I put myself out there, and Killian hurts me…"

Mary Margaret shrugged. "Sometimes you just have to take that leap of faith. Emma, do you have the courage to take that leap?"

Emma was silent for several moments, a battle royal waging within her heart. The fear was strong…but so was the hope. She couldn't shake the feeling that she was on the cusp of something magical. That feeling of connection of understanding she'd gotten sitting in the coffee shop…did she have the courage to pursue it?

Abruptly she nodded. "Alright, fine. You win. I'll give the guy a shot. I'll turn on my soulmate finder next time I see him in the coffee shop. I just hope your prepared to deal with the fallout if he ends up screwing me over."

"I'm not even remotely worried about that," Mary Margaret said. "What I _am_ worried about is just how much I'm going to have to hound you to write a testimonial for the Music of the Heart Soulmate Finder after you get together with the man of your dreams."

~c~s~c~s~c~s~c~s~c~s~

_Three days later_

"And just what has you looking like the cat that ate the canary, love?" Killian asked Belle after the third time the barista tossed him a knowing smile as she passed by.

"Remember how I told you I'd see what I could do about giving you another shot with Emma Swan?" Belle said, leaning against the counter, next to the corner where he was just about to start his music for the day.

Killian felt his heart leapt. Did he remember Belle's promise to talk to the elusive Miss Swan? Not bloody likely he'd forget! After Emma had fairly fled the coffee shop the other day, he'd felt a swift, sudden burst of disappointment. He'd been so _sure_ she'd felt something when she heard his heart song!

" _Don't worry, Killian. It's not you," Belle had assured, stepping up to him and turning to look at the door, where Killian's eyes were still trained. "She's…guarded. She's had some rough experiences with love, and she's a bit jaded."_

" _What's her name?" Killian croaked out._

" _Pardon?"_

" _Her name, love," Killian said. "What's her name?"_

" _Emma Swan," Belle said. "She's one of my best customers, and she's become a good friend too. I have to admit, I hoped the two of you would hit it off."_

" _Swan…" Killian breathed, and then sighed, looking back toward Belle. "Well, not to disappoint you, but I fear I bloody mucked up my chances with the lovely Emma Swan. It would seem she couldn't get away from me fast enough."_

" _I wouldn't be so sure, Killian," Belle said, squeezing his shoulder affectionately. "She definitely felt the pull toward you. Trust me. She wouldn't have run if she hadn't."_

" _Well whatever the lass may feel," Killian said unhappily, "I fear it's too late."_

" _Nonsense!" Belle had said. "Just leave it to me. I'll talk to her. I'll give you another shot at her, or my name's not Belle French!"_

"You mean…" Killian said, coming back to the present, "you mean Emma Swan has agreed to return to the coffee shop, even knowing I'll be playing?"

The bell over the door rang, and Belle chuckled seeing the woman herself walk in. "That answer your question, Jones?"

Killian's heart raced at the sight of Swan, swooping in and seating herself—conspicuously as close to his set up as she could get. "Aye," he said under his breath to the shop's proprietor. "I believe it answers it perfectly."

Belle grinned and patted his shoulder. "Good. Just make sure you don't squander your second chance."

He grinned back. "Not a chance in the world."

With a deep breath, Killian reached down, grabbed his guitar, and then turned toward the coffee shop crowd…and found himself looking into the gorgeous eyes of Emma Swan, looking up at him, a slight smile on her lips.

From the back of the room, Emma was beautiful, but this close, close enough to see the flecks of gold in her eyes, she was bloody breathtaking, a work of art. He smiled down at her, expecting her to look away.

But she didn't. She returned his smile with a gentle one of her own. Dare he hope that not only had Swan returned…but she wished to give him a chance as well? He shot up a quick prayer that was the case as he reached up to turn on soulmate finder he'd dug up the moment he returned to his ship after the last time he'd played.

For a moment nothing happened. It was as though all the sound within the room—the gentle hum of conversations, the clinking of coffee cups, the buzz and gurgle of the espresso maker—fell away.

And then suddenly it began, his heart song, but like he'd never heard it before. It mixed, combined, twined together with Emma Swan's and it was like bloody brilliant. He felt the emotion rush upon him, and the tears come to his eyes. Beautiful wasn't a strong enough word. It was…beyond description, this new song within his heart, the utter completion Emma brought him. It was as though a window had opened in heaven and for a moment he heard all the choirs of angels singing down to him.

There was no doubt, no doubt at all. Emma Swan was his soulmate.

Killian closed his eyes, savored the song, took several deep breaths trying to get his emotions under control, and then finally took up his guitar.

"I would like to begin this morning as I ended my last performance," Killian said, looking directly into Emma's eyes, "with a song that comes directly from my heart. This is dedicated to the woman I hope to soon get to know much, much better."

Without ever taking her eyes from his, Emma deliberately reached up and fiddled with the small device Killian only just noticed in her ear—her own soulmate finder.

~c~s~c~s~c~s~c~s~c~s~

_Would Killian Jones ever finish his set?_

Emma tapped her fingers against the table top in frustration as he belted out what felt like his hundredth song of the morning.

She'd taken a chance today. She'd come within a hair's-breadth of losing her nerve, but somehow she'd found the courage to come down to the _Bookmark_ today, found the courage to explore whether or not there was anything to the connection she felt to Killian Jones.

Deciding if she was going to do this, she was going to _do_ this, she'd walked past her usual table in the back, and had taken a seat as close to the stage as she could get ( _as close to_ him _as she could get_ ). This time when he smiled at her, she returned it, determined to be open, determined to give this—whatever it was—a fair chance.

Maybe Killian Jones was her soulmate, maybe he wasn't, but she knew one thing for damn sure, she wasn't leaving here without at least finding out.

And so, when Killian all but announced that he was about to play the song he heard when he turned on his soulmate finder, Emma knew what she had to do. Holding his mesmerizing gaze, she reached up and turned on her device.

With the first notes from his guitar, Emma's entire world changed. She'd never heard anything like it, knew she never would again. It was as though all the world around her suddenly became more intense—colors more vibrant, sounds more beautiful. Happiness like she'd never known bubbled up to the surface, so much it was almost suffocating.

It was all the confirmation she needed. There was no doubt; Killian Jones was her soulmate.

"Pardon, love. Is this seat taken?"

Emma started. She'd been so caught up in the music, in the emotions, in the new realization that hit her that she didn't even notice when the guitar stopped and Killian stepped to her side. She felt a dazzling smile spread over her face, before she tossed him a flirtatious look.

"Absolutely," she said. "That seat belongs to my soulmate."

"Ah," he said with a grin, taking a seat at her side in one smooth move, "then it seems it's my lucky day."

"Is it now?" she asked with a grin.

Killian reached up, took the soulmate finder from his ear and presented it for her inspection. "According to this device, your soulmate is none other than my dashing self."

"Strangely enough," Emma said, taking out her own finder, "mine said the exact same thing. I'd say it's about time we actually met and got to know each other, wouldn't you?"

"As you wish, love," he said, with a bow that wouldn't have been out of place coming from a man from three centuries before. "Killian Jones at your service."

"Emma Swan," she answered, holding out her hand .

To her everlasting delight, he took her hand, brought it to his lips, and placed a long, lingering kiss to it.

"Well, Emma Swan," he said, British accent flowing over her with the smoothness of butter. "Suppose you tell me about yourself. I can't wait to get to know the woman I hope to spend the next several decades with."

~c~s~c~s~c~s~c~s~c~s~

_So, my name is Emma, and I never do these testimonial type things. It's just not my style, but my former roommate, Mary Margaret, convinced me I really owe it to you since I'm so happy and everything, so here goes. I'd pretty much given up on the whole love thing; not just soulmate love, ANY love. Figured it just wasn't in the cards for me. So when my roommate got all excited and insisted we both get Music of the Heart Soulmate Finders…well, it took a bit of convincing to get me to go along with it. We'll just leave it at that._

_After a few dates that ranged from ho-hum to "you have GOT to be kidding me", I was ready to throw in the towel, convinced I was right, and I just wasn't the soulmate type._

_Then I met Killian._

_He was a musician at this coffee shop I go to all the time, and there was this…I don't know…electricity between us from the first. At first I refused to use my soulmate finder because…well, the truth is, I was scared. I mean, what if I let myself fall in love with this guy and he ended up leaving like pretty much every other man that's ever been in my life? I just wasn't willing to risk it, so I did what I always do. I ran._

_In the end, it was Mary Margaret again that brought me to my senses (she's never going to let me forget about all of this, is she?). Told me love is worth all the risk of heartbreak. Said it's this beautiful, wonderful thing full of rainbow stickers and unicorn kisses. (Okay, maybe not her exact words, but that was the gist. The woman's basically Snow White, okay?)_

_So I went back to the coffee shop, and this time I took a chance and turned on the soulmate finder and…it was like Christmas morning and all my birthdays combined and something even better added on top. Can't really describe what it's like to hear the combining of your music with your soulmate's, but it's better than you could even imagine, okay?_

_Nneedless to say, Killian and I started going out, and it has been amazing. Never knew love could be like this. Not to get all cheesy and everything, but I really do feel like I was missing something, and when I fell in love with Killian, it all just_ clicked _into place._

_So, long story short, Killian and I had our first official date one year ago last Friday. Where are we now? Well, we're now just under one week away from our wedding (Six days, fifteen hours and thirty-seven minutes to be exact, not that I'm counting down or anything). The Music of the Heart Soulmate Finder really did change my life, and I'd just, you know, like to say thanks. Also, anyone out there seeing this? Let me just say if you're thinking about getting a soulmate finder of your own, do it! Trust me. It'll be the best forty bucks you ever spend!_

_~c~s~c~s~c~s~c~s_

The end!

_Notes:_

_-Well there you have it! The end of this little soulmate finder fic. This particular chapter is far longer than all the others, and I considered breaking it up into two parts, but then I decided I just wanted to have the story finished. I hope you enjoyed my take on the soulmate au trope!_


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